1. Field of the invention
This invention relates in general to winches, and in particular to a winch apparatus and method for pulling underground cable through conduit during installation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Contractors commonly utilize underground electrical power cable. The electrical power cable will be enclosed within an underground plastic conduit. Ends of the electrical cable will terminate in electrical housings at various locations.
When installing the underground electrical cable system, normally the contractor will thread a rope or pull line into the plastic pipe as the plastic pipe is being assembled and buried. When the plastic pipe has been completely buried, the pull line will have ends exposed at the surface. The contractor then connects one of the ends of the pull line to a reel of electrical cable. The contractor pulls on the other end of the pull line to draw the electrical cable through the conduit.
Often, the length of electrical cable to be pulled makes pulling by hand a very difficult task. It takes several workers. Pulling by a powered winch is not possible in many cases. Typically each of the ends of the pull line will be located within small electrical housing buildings. These small buildings will house various switches and other circuitry associated with electrical system. While the buildings have at least one portal or door, normally the roof is not removable.
Powered winches small enough to be placed in the building for pulling electrical cable are not commercially available. Winches mounted on trucks or other vehicles can not be placed within the building. Consequently, a conventional powered winch cannot readily access one end of the pull line for pulling the pull cable. Normally a contractor will utilize a large number of workers for manually pulling the line. This is time consuming and expensive.